The Germany-Kenya migration agreement

What the September 2024 agreement says, and what it does not change for your application.

What it is

• Signed on 13 September 2024 by Interior Minister Nancy Faeser and Kenya's Foreign Minister Musalia Mudavadi, with Chancellor Scholz and President Ruto present at the Federal Chancellery; Minister of State Katja Keul (Federal Foreign Office) is named as a further signatory in the official record. It is called a "comprehensive Mobility and Migration Agreement" (Federal Government). In force since 18 October 2024 (Bundestag hib 40/2025).
• The Federal Government says it is meant to let skilled workers and young people come to Germany, for example for vocational training, and sets up a return procedure for people from Kenya who have no right to stay (same page).
• The Federal Interior Ministry describes it as boosting regular migration by skilled workers and facilitating returns. According to Bundestag information (hib 40/2025), it covers no particular occupational group, national rules continue to apply, and biometric matching is used to identify people required to leave (hib 40/2025).

What it does not do

• No fixed number of places: the Federal Interior Ministry said so publicly (14 Sept 2024), while President Ruto spoke of 250,000 jobs. The agreement names no particular occupation and national rules apply (hib 40/2025). We read official summaries and press, not the agreement text itself.
• No separate visa: skilled workers still use § 18a, § 18b or the Blue Card; trainees § 16a; nurses recognition first.
• It does not replace recognition of qualifications, German language requirements or the Embassy's appointment system.

Pilot projects

Kenyan and German media report pilot placements, for example of bus drivers with a German operator. We found no official programme page (BA, GIZ or Federal Government) for bus or truck drivers from Kenya, so we do not describe any programme here. Kenyan driving licences are not simply converted: see Driving licence.